Posted on 06/03/2005 1:35:36 PM PDT by Red Badger
Chess pieces sit on three sides of the board
He has been dreaming of building a chessboard for three players ever since he was a boy. He was always unhappy about a situation when only two people could play chess. But three was always a crowd for this game. Mr. Kononov eventually made his dream come true.
He is a radio engineer by profession. He was involved in serious projects working in that field for many years. He came up with lots of ideas. He was part of a team that designed an aircraft driven by solar energy, it was reportedly capable of flying nonstop around the globe.
Having realized that he might spend a lifetime checking calculations and getting his plans off the ground, he focused on his old dream of a chessboard for three players.
A wastepaper basket in his office stayed filled to the brim with concepts and ideas he had to reject while searching for the right design. Finally, he came up with a chessboard resembling a cloverleaf. Chess pieces sit on three sides of the board. Alexander showed the invention to his dad, a chess aficionado. As he watched Alexander arranging neatly three kings on the same board, his dad could not find the words to express his admiration. Then he gasped out: "This is a masterpiece!" Alexander, his son and his dad quickly sat down and put the new chessboard to the test. An extra set of chess pieces on the chessboard are painted in bright color(blue or pink) to avoid confusion.
Alexander took a patent for his invention from Rospatent. He also registered his three-way chessboard with the State Register of Useful Models of Russia. He says the rules of the game equal those of traditional chess. Pieces can also move along a broken line thanks to design of the chessboard. The game keeps every participant pretty strung right till the end. A smart player can win even when his chances are really slim and he has only four pawns and a king on his side. But he can win by taking advantage of the position of pieces of his both opponents, according to Mr. Kononov. He admits that a regular game of chess seems pretty boring and easy after playing a chess game for three.
Alexander lives in a Russian town of Penza. Many residents of the town took up the new game with enthusiasm. The first Russian three-way chess tournament was held in Penza. Kids from three local schools took part in the tournament. Now Mr. Kononov is dreaming of launching an All-Russian tournament.
We had a 4-player board for a while. Either individual or teams. Games were short and violent.
Socialist Chess!
ROTFLOL
so what else is NU...?
The Chinese have some wacky game they play that’s sort of like chess for multiple players. Don’t ask me what the rules are though. They seem to change. Or maybe you just need 65 years to master them.
Now John Kerry can play chess with all his selves.
Chinese Checkers?.........
Not the same. Spock was shown in a few episodes with a 3-dimensional chessboard: Different subsets of the regular board's grids held on pillars at different levels.
you beat me kahhhhhhnnn had that ready to go
Fascinating.
Some buddies back in college did the same thing. They dubbed it "HyperChess".
http://www.thechessstore.com/product/CE0043CE
Here is a 4 player chess set.
We had a 4 player version in college too. It was called a Hookah.
http://darkelf.bizhosting.com/handcrafted_wooden_3_player_chess_board.html
Heres a 3 player one.
I have one similar to that, three levels. The moves are the same, except in three dimensions. For example, the knight can move one level up and two spaces over or two levels up and one over or just like regular chess on the same level. You have to attack or defend with all 3 levels in mind.
It's somewhere in the back of the closet. Let Spock play it.
Naaa, socialist chess would end up with the government taking all the pieces, keeping 95% of them and giving each of you one pawn which would actually be a miniature remote camera and microphone they would use to spy on you. If you complained, they would take you out and work you to death in a salt mine.
Its obvious.
Ha! No, I think I’ve mastered the concept of Chinese checkers…
No, this one is played on a board with pieces that look like stone/marble checkers and they plop them down on little intersecting lines to try to “capture” opposing pieces or something.
They also gamble during the game and I’ve seen probably $5,000 on the table at times.
Meanwhile, they never seemed inclined to “teach” me the rules – probably because serious gambling was being conducted.
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